Tennessee Titans General Team Thread

Don Wassall

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Buyers' regret in the making after the Titans were blown out in Week One:

MIKE VRABEL HAS DRAMATICALLY CHANGED HIS TONE REGARDING JULIO JONES

This summer, the Titans and their newly-signed Hall of Fame receiver, Julio Jones, were the talk of the town. The offense was supposed to be unstoppable, and the Titans were supposed to cruise through a weak AFC South with relative ease.

Funny how a blowout home loss can change the narrative really quickly.

Since arriving to Nashville, Jones has enjoyed total carte blanche with the organization and in the media: nobody dared criticize him publicly, even when he pulled the oldest veteran trick in the book, developing a “nagging” preseason injury to avoid practicing. That’s not to say Jones wasn’t actually injured, but even Vrabel made it clear that the Titans were intentionally going to be “cautious” with their new receiver.

Then the Cardinals rolled into town, embarrassing the Titans in front of their own fans 38-13, and exposing the entire organization for not being ready for a dog fight. Jones’ poor stat line (3 catches for 29 yards) was made significantly worse when he took a swing at cornerback Byron Murphy and drew a totally unacceptable unsportsmanlike conduct foul.

“Critical mistake,” Vrabel said, no longer shielding his players. “That is absolutely nothing that we coach or teach, so that would fall into the category of doing dumb **** that hurts the team, right there in bold letters.”

No mincing words, there. And the rightful criticism was just beginning.

“We had some drops – (Jones) dropped some passes,” Vrabel said during his postgame press conference. “Those are contested catches, but those are the ones that we have to come up with.”

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Jones’ woes weren’t just attributable to a couple drops and a hot-head moment; he simply wasn’t able to even get open. Jones averaged just 2.16 yards of separation when targeted against the Cardinals, more than a half yard below the league’s Week One average of 2.87 yards.

All told, the day was Arizona’s, but the NFL season is nothing if not long and grueling, so hopefully Tennessee can take the gut-punch in stride and be better for it. When a team acquires an elite talent at any position on the field late in his career, all the team can do is hope for health and motivation. The season is young, and Julio Jones should be healthy right now, so all that remains is the question of proper motivation. Maybe some tough love in the public eye from his no-nonsense head coach will light a fire in Jones’ belly, and Titans fans will get to see why he’s a Hall of Famer in the making.

https://www.outkick.com/mike-vrabel-has-dramatically-changed-his-tone-regarding-julio-jones/
 

Extra Point

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Jones sounds like a case of a guy who got a big contract and is now "mailing it in."
 

Bucky

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Over/Under 4 on how many games Adrian Peterson plays?

I say he plays under. He's over the hill, but like many affletes.. Grasping at his youth and still thinks he's the man. Nope, his time has passed. I also doubt he clears 4ypc.

Titans are in trouble.
 
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The injury bug has bitten the Titans pretty hard this year, especially at the wide receiver position. Now A.J. Brown is expected to be out for a month or so. Will they activate Mason Kinsey and/or Cody Hollister from their practice squad?
 

Phall

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icsept

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According to ESPN, Ryan Tannehill was in a “dark place” for weeks after last season’s playoff loss to Cincinnati, requiring time and therapy to move on. Then, the Titans traded his number 1 receiver and drafted Malik Willis. Not a good offseason for Ryan, but I expect him to be ultra-motivated this season. It’s somewhat surprising that a veteran player would be so emotionally devastated with a “deep scar” over a playoff loss. But, I respect that he takes his job so seriously, considering all the money he makes. I’m hoping he has a great season.
 

Extra Point

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Since Tannehill came to the Titans they've gone 7-3, 11-5, 12-5. He's only 33. In this day and age he has many years left.

Yet the MSM and DWDs want him replaced. There's only one reason for this - Tannehill is white. They want all whites replaced by blacks.
 

NEP01

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Funny to see the limits of Tannehill's willingness to aid black people.
 

Don Wassall

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So as much as these players are supposedly analyzed and scrutinized, nobody knew this until now?? As mentioned before, this guy has "bust" written all over him already.

Titans receivers coach Rob Moore said Treylon Burks has asthma.
Questions about the rookie wideout's conditioning have persisted for weeks after Burks -- Tennessee's first round pick in the 2022 draft -- was spotted having "breathing issues" during the team's rookie minicamp. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently reported that Burks "labored" through pre-draft private workouts. Burks was limited in early OTA sessions. “It differs every now and then, but I’m just taking it one day at a time and just playing ball,” Burks said. Burks' condition is worth monitoring during mandatory minicamp and training camp. He's being taken as the 43rd wideout off the draft board in early fantasy leagues.
 

Freethinker

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Don Wassall

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Malik Willis played the entirety of preseason game 2 and threw for less than 100 yards yet is still "outplaying" Will Levis. Maybe it'll eventually change but over the past half year Levis has been treated as poorly as any White QB prospect ever has.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Will Levis (thigh) will miss the Titans’ final preseason game, “strengthening” Malik Willis’ chances of claiming the No. 2 QB job.
Fowler said Willis could lock down the team’s backup spot “if he continues to show improvement” Friday night against the Patriots. Willis has reportedly outplayed Levis throughout training camp. It brings into question whether Levis — who sustained his thigh injury in mid-August — can make it as an NFL quarterback. Willis would bring some rushing appeal in superflex leagues if Ryan Tannehill were to miss time in 2023.
 

Leonardfan

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Malik Willis played the entirety of preseason game 2 and threw for less than 100 yards yet is still "outplaying" Will Levis. Maybe it'll eventually change but over the past half year Levis has been treated as poorly as any White QB prospect ever has.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Will Levis (thigh) will miss the Titans’ final preseason game, “strengthening” Malik Willis’ chances of claiming the No. 2 QB job.
Fowler said Willis could lock down the team’s backup spot “if he continues to show improvement” Friday night against the Patriots. Willis has reportedly outplayed Levis throughout training camp. It brings into question whether Levis — who sustained his thigh injury in mid-August — can make it as an NFL quarterback. Willis would bring some rushing appeal in superflex leagues if Ryan Tannehill were to miss time in 2023.

As we can see. The media is all in and taking every angle they can to attack White QBs. We are all witness to the caste system under a microscope over the QB position. To even state that the injury Levis experienced has anything to do with his long term ability to play QB in the NFL is asinine. He's already better than Willis.
 

Leonardfan

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https://nfltraderumors.co/titans-signing-qb-mason-rudolph-to-one-year-deal/

Not a bad destination. I certainly hope Levis takes the next step, he showed a a lot of promise during his rookie year. Rudolph does show himself to be a solid option if called upon. Pretty amazing how Rudolph got no attention in free agency last year though, I certainly think he could be a starter in the league. Last year with all the White back up QBs coming in and performing well should have been a wake up call to NFL fans but most will keep with the narrative fed to them.
 
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